Imane Khelif triumphed over Anna Luca Hamori with a unanimous decision in their women’s welterweight quarter-final at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Saturday afternoon.
In recent days, the boxing events at the Games have been marred by controversy, arising from a contentious debate about Khelif’s participation in the women’s boxing category. This dispute highlights issues surrounding gender identity, competitive fairness, and the integrity of Olympic sports.
Following her victory on Saturday, the 25-year-old Algerian emerged from the ring visibly emotional, having faced intense scrutiny during the week after her match against Italian Angela Carini.
Khelif displayed increasing confidence throughout the round of 16 bout, bolstered by fans chanting her name in the North Paris Arena.
While Hamori had moments of success, she struggled to establish her range, allowing Khelif to assert her dominance from the start, with one judge scoring the fight 10-8 in favor of the Algerian.
Imane Khelif (pictured) defeated Anna Luca Hamori via unanimous decision on Saturday.
The Algerian was visibly emotional after securing victory on Saturday afternoon in Paris.
Khelif (left) was penalized a point for holding in the bout’s final round.
Khelif received a point deduction for holding in the bout’s final round; however, this did not affect the overall outcome given the judges’ scorecards were quite lopsided.
After the match, Khelif expressed gratitude to the fans before kneeling and mimicking writing on the canvas. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her team guided her out of the ring.
Khelif is one of two athletes—alongside Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting—who were permitted to participate in the Paris 2024 Games after being disqualified from the previous year’s Women’s World Championships due to alleged failures in gender eligibility testing.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is overseeing boxing at the Paris 2024 Games but did not organize the World Championships, reported that Khelif was disqualified in India because of elevated testosterone levels.
However, after receiving a bye in the first round at the Olympics, Khelif—who also competed in the Tokyo Games—was criticized following her fight against Italian boxer Carini.
In the first 30 seconds of their match, Carini was struck in the face and needed her coach to adjust her headgear in the corner. Reports indicated that she suffered a broken nose.
Although she resumed momentarily, Carini hardly landed a punch before stating to her corner that ‘it’s not fair’ and ultimately quitting for her safety, collapsing to her knees in tears.
‘I couldn’t finish the match. The pain in my nose was intense, and I decided, with the experience and maturity I have, that stopping was the best choice for my wellbeing,’ Carini explained to BBC Sport after the encounter.
‘It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to prioritize my health. I have no fear of the ring or taking hits, but in that moment, I knew it was time to stop.’
Khelif is seen shouting in the ring during her contentious bout against Italian Carini.
Once the match was stopped, the referee raised Khelif’s hand in victory. However, a visibly incensed Carini pulled her hand away from the official and walked off in frustration.
During the lightning-fast bout, Carini was affected by two powerful punches from Khelif, saying the force of the strikes rendered her incapable of continuing.
After the match was halted, the Italian fell to her knees, sobbing and expressing that she had never before experienced such impactful punches in a match.
The distraught Italian remarked after the fight: ‘I can deal with pain, but those punches were overwhelming, and I knew I couldn’t carry on. I didn’t quit because I wanted to but because I had to protect myself.’
She clarified that her decision to leave the ring was not a protest against her opponent but rather a necessary choice for her health.
With her Olympic dreams shattered after just 46 seconds, the heartbroken Italian fighter Carini collapsed and wept.
The Italian fighter in blue turned away from the handshake and fell to the mat, wiping away tears as Khelif, in red, looked on.
Female Italian boxer Angela Carini (in blue) claims she stopped her Olympic contest to ‘save my life’.
Carini explained her kneeling at the match’s conclusion was a tribute to her late father, who passed away in 2021, saying: ‘I regret not being able to take Italy to the podium.’
She was taken for medical evaluation to assess the seriousness of her facial injuries, including a bruised nose.
Lin Yu-Ting has also been in the spotlight amid the controversy, as the Taiwanese boxer, who had previously failed a gender test, won decisively against her opponent, leaving her in tears.
Yu-Ting required all three rounds to secure victory over Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova, but the decision to allow her fight to proceed incited outrage from women’s rights advocates and fellow athletes.
Maya Forstater from Sex Matters reacted with angered emojis to a clip from the bout’s conclusion, where a commentator noted ‘job done’.
Mara Yamauchi, a former elite marathon runner and two-time Olympian, criticized the fight on X, claiming ‘shame on the IOC for allowing this’.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif (in red) defeated Angela Carini of Italy in just 46 seconds during their women’s 66kg preliminary round match at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Italian boxer Angela Carini stated she had to withdraw from her fight with Khelif to ‘save my life’.
She remarked: ‘Another female boxer encounters a male competitor at Paris 2024. This situation is unjust, unsafe, and wrong. When males don’t win by a significant margin in the female category, it merely indicates they are not exceptional athletes, rather than them lacking a male advantage.’
‘The IOC should be ashamed for permitting this.’
Another commentator noted on X: ‘Regardless, she ought to be barred from the Olympics. If she was disqualified from the World Boxing Championships for an unfair advantage, she should not compete in the Olympics.’
Jonathan Campbell remarked: ‘Think critically… if another woman had tested high in testosterone, they would have been disqualified for unfair advantage.’
‘Hence, this individual should not be in the ring against another woman who does not possess that advantage.’
One user stated: ‘This is an utterly absurd, completely inequitable, and hazardous scenario; though, surely common sense will prevail soon.’
Another user added: ‘This is beyond ridiculous.’
‘Lin Yu Ting was banned from the 2023 Women’s Boxing World Championship due to possessing XY chromosomes.’
Lin was classified as female at birth, as clarified by New Taipei City Councilor Cho Kuan-ting in a Facebook post on Wednesday. Her national identification number begins with a ‘2’, the identifier for females, while males receive a ‘1’. This number remains unchanged, according to Hsinchu City Government.
However, the clash ignited controversy due to Lin failing a gender eligibility test at last year’s World Championships.
Lin, who is the top seed entering the Olympics, lost her bronze medal after failing to satisfy the International Boxing Association’s unspecified eligibility criteria.
Lin had achieved a bronze medal in the women’s featherweight competition at the World Championships but was stripped of the honor last year.
Lin secured her place at a second Olympic Games by triumphing at the Asian Games last year.
She had won three matches before being eliminated in the semi-finals by Kazakhstan’s Karina Ibragimova.
In a 2013 interview with Liberty, Yu-Ting, a two-time world champion, revealed that she took up the sport to defend her mother from domestic violence.
Her coach, Zeng Ziqiang, mentioned that Yu-Ting trained in boxing out of concern for her mother, who suffered repeated abuse from her father.
Following her success, she received a scholarship of 40,000 Taiwanese dollars for her education and subsequently dedicated her prize money to support her family after her father abandoned them.
The International Boxing Association (IBA), which has lost recognition due to various governance issues, later revoked Lin’s medal, stating that the boxer did not meet eligibility requirements.
Khelif’s victory was overshadowed by controversy, with her Italian opponent withdrawing in tears just 46 seconds into the fight, expressing, ‘It’s not fair.’
The bout has drawn sharp criticism, as Team GB gold medalist boxer Nicola Adams declared, ‘I stand with Angela Carini.’
Adams denounced the decision to allow the fight, branding it ‘unfair and dangerous’.
She stated: ‘After persistently advocating for women’s boxing to be included in the Olympics and the dedication they invest to reach this stage, it was heartbreaking to witness a fellow fighter compelled to forsake her Olympic aspirations.’
‘Individuals not born as biological females who have undergone male puberty should not be permitted to compete in women’s sports. Not only is this inequitable, but it also poses dangers.’
There is no evidence or suggestion that either athlete underwent male puberty. Both were deemed ineligible after not complying with eligibility regulations, following independent laboratory testing.
Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at Sex Matters, remarked that the IOC should feel embarrassed.
She stated: ‘It’s incredibly unjust that at the height of her career, Angela Carini faced the need to concede for her own safety.’
‘The look of anguish on her face during that moment ought to be enough to put an end to the absurd and perilous situation of men competing in women’s sports.’
Lin Yu-ting (pictured), disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships, will compete in the featherweight division on Friday.
‘People are justifiably outraged, and the IOC should be ashamed. However, they seem unashamed as this is their policy being executed.
‘Male advantage being wielded against women renders nearly every sport unfair and unsafe, especially boxing. This issue persists across multiple sports globally.’
IOC officials are now confronting substantial backlash due to the fight, with former Prime Minister Liz Truss condemning the match.
In a Twitter post, the ex-Tory MP stated: ‘When will this lunacy cease? Males cannot transform into females. Why isn’t the British Government protesting this?’
British Olympic swimming legend Sharron Davies also joined the outcry, saying: ‘This is outrageous. The IOC is a disgrace, essentially legalizing violence against women. This must end!!! What’s wrong with them?’
Author JK Rowling labeled the event ‘insanity’. In a message yesterday, the gender-critical author asked: ‘What will it take to stop this madness? A female boxer suffering life-altering injuries? A fatality?’
She shared a video of the fight, adding: ‘Watch this thread, then explain why you condone a man physically overpowering a woman in public for entertainment. This doesn’t constitute sport. From the dishonest cheat in red to the organizers permitting this, it’s an exhibition of men asserting dominance over women.’
Sport scientist Professor Ross Tucker commented: ‘Would you permit a 90kg fighter to face off against a 60kg fighter?
Because that is akin to the disparity in strength and power between male and female boxers.’
Elon Musk, owner of the X social media platform, supported efforts to trend a campaign advocating for Carini.
American swimmer Riley Gaines, an activist for women’s rights in sports, posted: ‘Men have no place in women’s sports. #IStandWithAngelaCarini Let’s make it trend.’
Musk quoted Gaines’ tweet, responding: ‘Absolutely.’
However, the IBA lost its recognition from the IOC last year due to governance and financial issues, leaving the IOC to manage the boxing competition in Paris.
Yu Ting Lin looks on after winning her Women’s 57kg preliminary round match against Sitora Turdibekova.
Yu Ting Lin celebrating her victory against Turdibekova.
The IOC stated yesterday: ‘These two athletes were victims of a sudden and arbitrary resolution imposed by the IBA.
Towards the conclusion of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were abruptly disqualified without any due process.
According to the IBA minutes made available on their website, this decision was initially made solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO.’
Certain sports impose limits on testosterone levels for women competitors, while others exclude all who have undergone male puberty.
Differences in Sexual Development (DSDs) encompass a variety of rare conditions related to genes, hormones, and reproductive structures.
Some individuals with DSDs are raised as females but possess XY sex chromosomes and testosterone levels typical of males.
The IOC asserted that eligibility regulations were guided by rules from the Tokyo Games in 2021 and could not be altered during the competition.
The governing body added: ‘The IOC is saddened by the mistreatment that both athletes are currently enduring. Every individual should be given the right to engage in sports without discrimination.’
Turdibekova giving her post-fight interview after losing to Lin.
Nevertheless, the IBA criticized the ‘inconsistencies in eligibility’ at the Paris Games, stating: ‘Both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, post-testing, did not meet the necessary eligibility criteria to compete in the female division of our respective events.’
‘The urgency of the decision to disqualify the boxers was warranted, as the safety of our athletes is our top priority.’
In a recent interview leading up to the Games, Khelif expressed her determination to bounce back from her ban due to elevated testosterone levels, declaring: ‘I want to demonstrate to the world what a courageous woman Imane Khelif is.’
Earlier this week, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams stated, ‘All competitors in the women’s category are in compliance with the competition eligibility rules.’
He added: ‘Their passports identify them as women, and it is officially documented that they are female.’
Prior to 2021, the IOC established thresholds for the maximum testosterone levels permissible for competitors in women’s events. These levels were identified through blood tests, similar to doping tests.
The topic of testosterone limits has been brought under scrutiny by high-profile cases such as Caster Semenya’s.
